A Glitch In Perfection
by Sophie Saint-Laurent
Summary: Things are always changing, but one thing always seems to stay the same - Kuchiki Byakuya's perfection.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One  
**

Life isn't fair. Why does Rukia's Nii-sama always have to act so inhibited? Why couldn't their family be like Ichigo's carefree one? Rukia would rather have Nii-sama beat her up like Ichigo's dad instead of living in their current state of polite silence. How could they even be _called_ a family? What element did they possess that could possibly put them under the category of family? What part of the life that they were currently living in had even the slightest resemblance with a family? Well, sure, they shared the same last name, lived under the same roof, and under the legal documents signed by the noble Kuchiki, she was legally, well, his _sister_. They were siblings. That word often confused Rukia though. Siblings. What did it _really_ mean—if it even had a precise meaning to begin with? But back to all the comparing and contrasting… sure, she found _some_ similarities, but they weren't enough to convince her that they were a real family. They were just the surface stuff, the things that everyone knew of. But nothing was underneath all that to support it. What happened to all the things that really mattered? Like spending quality time together, and laughing together at the dinner table? She often wonders why she was even brought into this painfully intimidating environment. Kuchiki was only a representation of what she was, but it said nothing of _who_ she was.

Every family has obstacles and problems to overcome—whether its financial ones, mental ones, or physical ones. But how was Rukia supposed to fix this one? She couldn't just go up to Kuchiki Byakuya, smack him in the head and say "What is _wrong_ with you?! Can't you give your sister some love? You've made her quite a poor little lonely girl…" now, could she? No, she couldn't. Well, at least she _wouldn't_, anyway. But it's not completely true that he's offered her completely no love at all… All those time that he'd come to her rescue and save her life at the very last minute, doesn't that show that he loves her very much? Or is it only because of the promise he had made to her older sister, Hisana, before her death?

Hisana, Hisana, Hisana. That's all he cares about, eh? But what about _Rukia_? Is a little bit of a family-like atmosphere too much to ask for? She's always heard of the phrase "When in doubt, just have a heart to heart talk." Yeah right, like he would even _bother_ to listen to her rant about what she wants him to offer to her. He would never. That was one thing she was sure of, if she was sure of anything for that matter.She wondered how her sister and Nii-sama's marriage was like. _Well_, Rukia decided, _it must have been awkward as hell for Sister_, based on what she knew of Nii-sama—not that she knew much about him anyway… Of many of those lonely nights spent in the Kuchiki household, she couldn't help but ask herself this question over and over again in her head:

Does he even love her?

It was on constant replay—the one and only song in her head as if it were an mp3 player. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat… And each time she'd try to think about something else, her thoughts always drifted back to this question. All the time. Rukia wondered if it was even healthy to think about someone this much? And to stress over every little detail that concerned him? Nevertheless, the person be… her _brother_? Thank goodness Byakuya wasn't her blood-related brother, or she'd have the added perplexity of trying to figure out a way to cure herself from some kind of weird sibling complex disease.

"Kuchiki Rukia-sama?" A voice calling out from outside the closed doors of the bathing room followed three loud knocks on the door, "Are you alright in there? You've been in the bath for quite a long time now."

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for your concern." Rukia tried to hide the annoyance in her voice, speaking softly. "Geez, can't I get some time to myself around here…" she muttered to herself as she started to get up from the big wooden tub. As she steadied her feet on the cold wooden planks, she realized her head felt a little dizzy. _I guess I _have_ been in here for a while now, neh?_

Just when Rukia was wrapping her towel around her body, the door flung open, and the man who stood at the door was the same man who never had the slightest hint of emotion. It was the same man who was trying very hard at that moment to hide his worried face, which had later turned into a flush of embarrassment.

"Nii-sama! What are you doing here?!" Rukia screamed at the man, scrambling to get her towel over anything she didn't want her brother to see.

Her brother completely ignored her questioning. "Rukia! Why— What?—" Kuchiki Byakuya closed his eyes for a moment and let out a deep breath. "Rukia," he tried again, this time, his voice controlled, "when asked for your well-being, you should at least give a reply."

"Nii-sama! You can't just bust the door down and come in here when I'm taking a bath!" She continued with her yelling, then gasped, as she realized this was first time she had ever spoken back to her brother. Her fear of punishment quickly went away. According to her judgement, this kind of behaviour was appropriate for the moment, considering the shock and anger that was running through her veins.

"Rukia, please stop being so childish. You are a mature adult now, and you are expected the act like one." Byakuya turned and walked out of the room, his captain's coat flapping behind him, leaving her in his dust, like he always did.

"That's exactly why I'm mad right now! If I was a child, I don't think I would be so worried! But I'm a _mature woman_ and that's why you can't just come in here!!" She shrieked after him.

_Why does he always have to act like he's the superior one, like I'm the one that's always wrong? Geez. I shouldn't be blamed! I just spoke a bit quietly. But if I spoke any louder, I would have yelled at that pesty servant. And then I would have been accused of rudeness. Can't I do anything around this house without being watched by hawks? It's not like I would have been in any real danger anyway, like what can even happen in the washroom anyway? I'll drown in the bathtub?_ Rukia bursted out laughing at the thought—drowning in the bathtub… _Hilarious!_ How the heck can a vice-captain-levelled shinigami like her possibly _drown_ in the _bathtub_?

But did this mean that Byakuya cared for Rukia? Didn't he burst in the bathing room because he was worried that something might have happened to her? And she had screamed and yelled at him, and accused him of being wrong when she herself was at fault as well, no, it just plain _was_ her fault. Guilt washed over Rukia as she replayed the scene in her head.

_Crap, this really _was_ my fault… Oh! What an embarrassment! He must think I'm very disrespecful—yelling back at her older brother. I completely disobeyed the rules of the noble Kuchiki household. _

_But what was that stammering back there... What happened to his perfect disclosure?_

-Flashback-

"_Rukia! Why— What?—" Kuchiki Byakuya closed his eyes for a moment and let out a deep breath._

--

Before she knew it, Rukia was already in her room, in her clothes, and sitting on her bed. All that thinking must have kept her busy daydreaming while her feet took her away on their own pace. She spread out her arms and fell backwards, letting out a big sigh. She was anticipating to land on her soft cushiony pillows, but instead, hit her head on something unexpected. Startled, Rukia quickly got up and spun around.

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Thank you for reading! Please review :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Previously…_

_Before she knew it, Rukia was already in her room, in her clothes, and sitting on her bed. All that thinking must have kept her busy daydreaming while her feet took her away on their own pace. She spread out her arms and fell backwards, letting out a big sigh. She was anticipating to land on her soft cushiony pillows, but instead, hit her head on something unexpected. Startled, Rukia quickly got up and spun around._

On her bed was the same man who had bursted into the bathing room earlier. His eyes were closed and he laid unmoving, fingers entwined, and arms crossed neatly across his muscular chest—a rather attractive part of him which Rukia couldn't help but notice.

"Nii-sama?" she gave a gentle shake to his shoulder. No words or even a reaction was returned. She looked at his perfectly still body.

He even slept in a perfect manner.

Rukia couldn't help but reach over and touch his angelic face. Her thumb ran over the faint violet circles under his eyes.

_Poor Nii-sama. Being a captain must be tiring. Damn that Renji. He should be taking some of the responsibilities as well. _Rukia decided not to wake him up, seeing the expression of exhaustion worn on his face. For a moment, all Rukia did was stare. But a knock on the door pulledher out of her daze.

"Yes?" she called out quietly, as an attempt to let her brother have some undisturbed rest.

"Have you any idea of Kuchiki Byakuya-sama's whereabouts?" Rukia panicked.

"No… Why? Is it something important?"

"It is of no importance. It can wait until tomorrow."

"Okay, because I don't think you'll be able to find him today." her voice confident, but her stomach did a flip-flop.

"Thank you for you assistance, Kuchiki Rukia-sama." Faint footsteps trailed after the servant's reply.

Why did Byakuya have to do this to her? It's not like she doesn't spend enough time thinking about him as it is. But spending a whole night with him within the same four walls? That would be quite torturous to her imagination.

Her emotional state was still murky to herself, but the physical signs weren't something she would easily mix up. She knew for a fact that his mere presence made her nervous. Her usual easygoing personality evolves—for only the moments she's around him—into a shy, private figure. Every time she turns a corner and sees her Nii-sama's perfectly emotionless face, her heart starts to beat twice as fast, every cell in her body starts vibrating nervously, and her stomach starts to turn as toss around inside. Her anxiety takes over her body and mind, causing her whole stance to change. She once read that all these feelings were caused by an emotion called love, but how could she possibly fall in love with her brother? She was sure she loved him, but was she _in_ love with him?

Before she had time to consepulate on any further, Byakuya stirred. Rukia froze. On a quick decision, Rukia decided to pretend she was already asleep. She gently put her head in her crossed arms upon the bed, praying he didn't sense her unsleeping state before. As her brother slowly got up, she pretended to awaken as well.

"Rukia? I was waiting for you." he spoke while she was pretending to rub her eyes.

"Huh?" she demanded impolitely, "I mean—what for, Nii-sama?" Rukia raised her head to look at her brother curiously.

"I have come to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have ran in like that. I'm truly sorry. I realize that you need your privacy as well." Rukia was stunned speechless for a second, for this was the first time she had ever heard her brother apologizing with such sincerity.

"Uh— Um— Yeah, it's alright. I've… just had a bad day. And I want to apologize for not replying when the servant asked if I was alright."

"I understand," Byakuya stood up from the edge of the bed where he had been sitting, "Good-night, Rukia."

"Thank you Nii-sama for your forgiveness," Rukia bowed her head down, hands in her lap, "rest well."

"No Rukia, it's _me _who has to thank _you_." Byakuya put his hand on top of Rukia's hair and gently pat her head before leaving the room.

As Byakuya paced back to his private quarters, his head filled with something rare—confusion. There was something about what happened that day that was confusing him. It began when he realized he was so worried, hearing of Rukia no responding while she was in the bathing room. Byakuya didn't understand what caused his over anxiety. He could have told a servant to deal with it, but he didn't. And Rukia wouldn't have been in any real danger anyway. After all, she wasn't a child anymore. She can take a bath by herself. But to be completely honest, this wasn't the first time Byakuya was so worried about Rukia. Although, every time he is, the emotion only gets deeper. Every time, he recognizes it as more a more clear and common. The memory of every single stab of pain as if it were knives being thrown at him of every passing second he doesn't have knowledge of her safety is unbearably crystalline—too clear for him to handle. When the sting became strong enough, his instincts overruled him, filtering everything out of his mind, and making it blank with nothingness except for the thought of Rukia being in some kind of danger.

Besides the emotions he forbids himself to show…

When he rushed into the bathing room, his face was plastered with anguish and he knew just as clear as Rukia witnesses the improbable sight. And when he realized how the screenshot scene must have looked, he felt blood rush to his face—and not from anger, but embarrassment.

Such a childish, uneventful incident had caused Kuchiki Byakuya to move the muscles on his face to constuct something too close to a sentiment. The man who had never bothered with anything or anyone's emotionless record was defeated by one small happening. A happening that apparently involved his sister—even if it wasn't his blood sister. Was it right to feel this way? But knowing Byakuya, he would never allow and feelings to get out of hand enough to the point where they would affect his outwards appearance.

But why did he go apologize to Rukia? Why did he admit fault to something that could have been easily said to be his right doing? Byakuya had done too much thinking that day—enough, for all he knew of—and he was tired. Along with tiredness came guilt… and avoidance.

But along his way back to his quarters, Byakuya felt heart change a bit. Maybe it was for the better.

_My sincerest apologies…  
…Hisana._


	3. Chapter 3

A Glitch in Perfection

_By Et3rn4__l D4rkn3ss_

Chapter Three: The Edge of the World

He watched her back as her figure danced under the falling cherry blossom pedals. She looked like a princess, with her snow white dress and the angelic look on her face when she turned around to smile at him. His breath caught in his throat and made a lump. She walked in front, her face of an expression so pure and gentle. She was content, childish if you may, and her mind stained with none inappropriate thoughts. He, on the other hand, felt guilty. His guilty pleasure was what spinning around his mind.

"Rukia…" he said dazedly, mesmerized by her beauty. Her violet eyes captured his alluringly. She looked at him in wonder, praise, and respect. He wished she wouldn't… for all he could think about was how it would feel to take his sister under his arms. He never got to finish his sentence.

His eyes were taking in every detail of her grace as he let her lead him through what seemed like an endless utopia of cherry blossom trees raining down their pedals upon them.

He was too concentrated to have noticed something wasn't right. The happening was too sudden, even for him. His eyes widened in horror as he came to realization. He heard her scream—too loud and too clear that it stung his ears. Her scream faded quickly. Byakuya rushed over to where Rukia had been last standing, and saw the edge of the world. Only darkness could be seen beyond. His heart stopped beating.

And then he woke up.

Byakuya sat up with a jerk, hand clenched in a shaking fist against his forehead. His forehead was wet—drenched in cold sweat. He felt overwhelmed with fear and sadness that he couldn't tell which was more dominant. His breathing grew heavy—he was almost panting. He couldn't help but notice the uneasy feeling inside his chest.

Rukia's eyes were sleepless. The rest of her body was sore from the day's training, but the something inside her head that told her things weren't quite right was keeping her up. She stepped outside the pitch blackness of her company into the monotone glare of the moon outside. Aimlessly, she wandered, as if she was sleepwalking. When her eyes came into focus again, she saw that her feet had taken her in front of her brother's room. _Why here of all forbidden places…?_

She kneeled down; doodling randomly with her finger on the ground in front of the bedroom door, but soon grew tired of such pointless activity and stood up. She leaned close to the door with her ear almost in contact with it, gently laying a hand on the door, as if she could feel Byakuya if she did so. _He's so close… it's like I can almost hear him breathing… So close… Nii-sama is so close…_

Rukia wanted to feel secure. Her loneliness was easier to ignore when she was with Renji, but Renji couldn't possibly be with her all the time. He was surely more than just a normal friend, but there were no sentimental feelings between them. She wanted to feel the arms of someone around her, and a whisper in her ear telling her "I'll be here when no one else is, I'll love you when no one else does, I can be the one." Not that she wanted that whisper to belong to her brother… She just wanted to know the feeling of safety. She had never felt so insecure before while growing up with Renji, but as they grew older, they could never be as innocent as the little kids they once were, and the distance between them grew further apart. Especially after she entered the noble Kuchiki family, she couldn't play the night away after the sun set with Renji. Nii-sama expected her to be home everyday for breakfast, for dinner, and obviously the Kuchiki house was where she was expected to spent her nights—alone. She missed the days with Renji, but she knew in her heart that it couldn't last forever. As children of different genders grew up, they couldn't take baths together anymore, they couldn't hold hands anymore, they couldn't sleep in the same bed anymore…

Rukia felt so alone in the Kuchiki house. The question came back: _How could Nii-sama have loved my sister?_ Did he know was love was? _Does he love me? I wish I can somehow connect with him. I want to feel his heart…_

She let out a sigh, and walked back to her own company.

Breakfast the next morning was the same routine, no different than any other day, but Rukia sensed tension in her brother's actions. She couldn't help but notice the way he gripped his spoon, as if it were necessary to hold on tight enough until the point where his knuckles turned white. Her curious eyes moved from his expressionless face to his hands—_What long, beautiful fingers he has…_—to his face again. She couldn't understand. Being with him had never been less nerve wrecking, but that morning felt particularly uneasy. Was there something she was missing out on?

She tried gripping the spoon the same way she studied her brother doing so. She found it an extremely inconvenient way to hold the spoon as the sides of the metal handle uncomfortably dug into her skin. When she looked up again to glimpse at her fingers, she realized he was no longer sitting in front of her, but his arms were by his side, and his hands at the same level of her back… The wind of his movement brushed her hair as he walked past. It sent a shiver up her spine.

"Your breakfast looks untouched, Rukia." His cool, disapproving tone made Rukia doubt her earlier witnessed tension in her brother

Rukia spun around, only to find him half way out of the dinning room by then. She stared until the last sight of his captain's cloak disappeared. How she wished to feel the breeze of his movement again, tainted with the smell of cherry blossom pedals.

How come she never noticed the way he smelled before?

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A/N: I just want to say thanks! 651 hits, 3 faves, 7 alerts. You do not know how much each and every single review makes me feel… I love all of you to death. Please keep reading and review! : ) Thanks guys! (or girls!)

Let's save the world: do not print ATM receipts! They are a waste of paper! : ) Thanks.


	4. Chapter 4

**A Glitch in Perfection  
**_By et3rn4l d4rkn3ss  
_Chapter Four: A Delicious Breath of Rain

Byakuya never told Rukia when her sister died. In fact, he had never said anything about Hisana at all. Rukia only knew of her from the rumours of the servants. But for the fifty or so years she did happen to live with him, she noticed the pattern of blank, unfocused eyes around the time of spring, and that he would disappear for three days around late April. She suspected that time being the time Hisana passed away. Rukia craved to know more about her sister, but had never gathered up enough courage to ask him herself, so she resorted to randomly picking up information here and here, and trying to piece the story together on her own.

She knew that they were almost identical—that was probably the reason why her brother scarcely looked at her—although her sister was said to be frail, eyes filled with sadness, and heart broken into pieces Byakuya couldn't fix. And that was about all she knew. The other, more significant details had probably been forbidden to talk about. As she soaked in the wooden bathtub, the questions floated around in her mind. What was her sister like? Was she good at making jokes? Did she like cantaloupes? Was she a shinigami too? How were they separated? What did she actually die from?

It was spring time again, and April was coming to an end in a little more than one week. Byakuya's temples throbbed as he sat at his desk in front of his pile of paperwork that never seemed to diminish. It was a couple hours past midnight, four hours after Renji had gone to sleep on the couch. Byakuya rose, and a sudden wave of exhaust hit him. He had been doing paperwork the whole time… excluding the past twenty minutes where the only thing going through his head was "It's that time of the year again…" Every year, he went through the same dilemma of whether or not he should bring Rukia along with him. Avoidance was such an easily accessible element, and it always managed to persuade him not to include Rukia in his annual visits. It excused him from talking about what hurt the most, and prolonged the time before the day he would eventually have to expose Rukia to the true story. It also freed him from _any_ kind of communication, period.

As he walked pass the bathing room, he noticed the lights were still on. _What is Rukia doing_ now_ at this hour…?_ He questioned, as if it were an action so predictable from her.

"Argh! This is pissing me off!!" he heard a female voice shout from inside. Rukia, hair dripping we, wrapped in nothing but a thin white Chappy-patterned towel, slammed the door open and stormed out. Byakuya turned around.

"Gah! Nii-sama…" Rukia buried her face in her hands, embarrassed, and turned the other way.

"What is, Rukia?"

"Huh?" Rukia stole a peek at her brother from a small gap between her fingers.

"What is… making you angry?" he took a step towards her. He felt the sudden need to reach over and brush the strands of wet hair from her face. Maybe it was just a trick Erebus played on his barely awake state of mind.

"Nothing… Excuse my language." she muttered without making any eye contact, and pushed her way past him in the rather-narrow corridor.

She smelled the way the apple orchids in the Kuchiki garden smelled after a fresh rain shower.

Byakuya had no trouble falling asleep. His heart felt so tired it wanted to slow its pace to a complete stop. The scar Hisana left him still throbbed like the feeling of new stitches, and it pained him to have the feeling revisit him with such strong force once a year. Twelve months wasn't enough time to get over something like that before it came back to haunt a person once again, leaving him once again, at square one. He lied on his back before his exhaustion devoured him, and stared at the ceiling. How come things never got better? No matter how much time has passed, the pain never seemed to ease. Sometimes when Rukia was around, somehow, she could temporarily dismiss some of the pain, but nothing could completely obliterate it. During the lonely nights like that one, he wished there was someone would hold him tightly and say "I'm here."

He found his thoughts jump from Hisana to Rukia.

It was 5AM, still too early for dawn, yet the two noble Kuchiki siblings were already up and dragging themselves around the house. Or at least, Rukia was doing all the dragging, and her brother, gracefully transporting himself.

"Rukia," Byakuya raised his head, his gaze upon the figure across the table. "This coming Sunday… would you like to accompany me somewhere?"

She was forced to look at him as she tilted her head backwards to drink her juice. His overall expression was so composed, but she didn't miss the slight tension in his eyes—like he was nervous. Her heart jumped.

_Is me asking me out on a DATE!?_

She almost chocked on her juice when the thought popped up in her mind. However, the silly thought was immediately eliminated by common sense.

She put her cup down and gazed into his eyes, studying his face. He broke eye contact with her to look at the flower pot sitting in the center of the table.

"I will come. But, what kind of… outing is it, may I ask?"

"You'll see," and with that, the elder Kuchiki rose from the seat and left.

Rukia let out a sigh. _What a man of mystery…_

_

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A/N: 1. Sorry for not updating! School is… well. School. But it's summer now, and I'll update more! : ) 12 REVIEWS, 1211 HITS, 5 FAVES, 11 ALERTS! O.M.G.! Everything practically doubled since my last chapter! OMG I LOVE YOU, EVERYONE! Keep reading!

Let's save the world: Don't take a plastic bag when you go to the grocery store if you seriously don't need one. (Like if you have ONE or TWO items…)


	5. Chapter 5

**A Glitch in Perfection  
**_By et3rn4l d4rkn3ss_  
Chapter Five: Desire

Thursday's usuals came and went; Friday was no different. But with each passing day, Rukia's anxiety grew. By Saturday, Rukia was positive her brother's requisition had been a request for her to accompany him to visit her sister for the first time. Just thinking about what followed Saturday made her nervous. Well, not _just_ nervous. She had other thoughts about the situation as well, but they bounced around in her head too wildly; she was unable to pick up their constantly changing frequencies and isolate the thoughts into anything concrete. Sadness was definitely in her confusing mixture of feelings. Sadness, for the remembrance of her sister's death, for knowing so little about her sister, for the missed opportunity of having a sister, and for the pain her brother must have been feeling.

_Especially for the pain Nii-sama must be feeling…_

Saturday's dinner had been especially uncomfortable. Rukia tried to make conversation with Byakuya, hoping somehow, their discussion topic could have lead to Hisana. In response to Rukia's effort, Byakuya made none. Rukia left dinner early, annoyed and unsatisfifed, and stalked out the Kuchiki manor to find Renji

And she did. He was sprawled out on Matsumoto's floor; Baldy hugging his stomach as a pillow; Matsumoto on her bed—the sake they drank leaving bold, apparent stains on the cheeks of all three.

"So much for that…" Rukia muttered, walking over to Renji and smacking him on the forehead before dragging him up. Ikkaku rolled onto his side, muttering something inaudible.

"Uhh…" Renji groaned on their way back to his room, his feet dragging loud uneven steps in the silent hallway. "My lovely Byakuya. Please, no more paperwork for me. Okay, darling?" Rukia had to laugh, especially seeing that stupid drunk grin on Renji's face.

"Sorry to break it to you, Renji, but somehow, I seriously doubt him knowing you have such feelings toward him is going to effect the amount of paperwork he assigns you," she giggled, before adding, "darling." Rukia kicked his door open with one of her feet. "Let's hope he has no business with you tonight." She laid Renji down on his bed, letting out the huge breath of air she had taken into her lungs, as if more air in her lungs could make supporting Renji's weight more effortless.

She lied down beside him, taking the spot Ikkaku placed himself, though lying beside Renji for Rukia held a completely different meaning than it did for Ikkaku—if it had _any_ meaning for him at all in the first place.

To Rukia, Renji was the memories of home. Of sweat, hunger, and the fields of wild weeds. The sweat from their childhood games under the hot afternoon sun. The hunger that pushed them to strive to get to a better place. The wild weeds that surrounded them as they grew up. The memories so distant, and yet still as vivid in her head. And who was Byakuya to take all those things away from her? Who was Byakuya, a complete stranger to claim her his sister?

Life had been so simple when it was just Rukia and Renji back in the days when they were still in Rukangan. When the only thing that seemed to matter was having enough food to keep them from starvation. Those days had been so carefree. There was nothing to worry about. No paperwork to do. No need for Rukia to force herself to use "appropriate" language. No noble family to represent. No rules to obey. No laws to comply to. No responsibilities. No duties to carry out. No humans to protect. No sister to mourn. No Byakuya.

_No Byakuya…_

Rukia found the urgency to turn to her side and clutch at her chest. The thought of not having Byakuya in her life introduced unqualified stabs of pain at her heart. She gasped, surprised she let herself allow Byakuya to hold such significance in her life. It had never occurred to Rukia before, but when the thought came to her mind, there was no way she could deny it: Life would still be pretty simple for the most part… If her feelings for her brother could be discarded.

She curled up her legs; she could feel the calm, assuring heat of Renji's body, and his steady breaths and occasional murmurs she was unable to piece together into words. And then she heard the door open. She sat up with a jerk of her body, and a ripple of guilt washed through her, although she was unsure whether her guilt was for the sharing of a bed between a boy and a girl, or for being caught thinking about her feelings for her brother, or for, in the first place, ever having such feelings. The sound of the opening of the door was a jolt back to reality for Rukia—the way things were supposed to be, in contrast to her fantasies.

Rukia felt like she almost coughed up her heart and then forcefully swallowed it back down when she came to recognize the figure that crowded the doorway. Despite the cool breeze that came in through the window, her face felt hot—burning—Rukia knew she was blushing and secretly thanked the sun, the gravity and the laws of physics for the existence of night.

"Nii-sama?" After what must have been more than ten seconds of unbroken eye contact between them, Rukia spoke first, her voice weak and abashed.

"Rukia." Was her brother's reply. He walked over to the bed, stopped, backed up the table, dropped off a pile of paperwork, and then back to the bed. Rukia quickly detached herself from Renji and scrambled clumsily to her feet. She kept her eyes on the ground, her feelings a mixture of embarrassment and misbehaviour. His eyes remained on her. Before Byakuya gave them a chance to proceed into another staring session, he grabbed her by the hand and started speedily towards the swung open door.

If a kiss between two lovers could be described to be fireworks, then the acquaintance of their fingers would be some serious roman candles. Rukia's heart pounded with the touch of his long icy fingers on her own warm ones. She took a look at Renji over her shoulder, and with much resentment, she was forced to discontinue contact between her brother and her.

When he had reached the door, Byakuya felt a tug from the warm little hand. Afraid he was unaware he had been hurting her, his grip loosened measurably, and her hand slipped out. He turned around. Rukia had rushed back to Renji's side, pulling the navy blue covering over his body, and tucking in the sides where the wind could possibly pass on a cold to him. He looked away, not wanting to look—not wanting to know.

_It's rude to stare… _He told himself.

But he knew there was more to his semblance than he let himself believe.

Byakuya could not let his fingers not crave for the touch of hers. He could not calm his heart down from its irregular beating.

In the front foyer, with an expressionless expression he did such a good job at holding, he dismissed his sister for the night. Rukia apologized with no lack of sincerity.

He noticed her hair, sticking to the nape of her neck from the humid summer air—her neck so exposed. For a second, in his head, he pictured the feel of her hot breath on his own neck. He felt hunger. His hand, as if with a mind of its own, reached out to her, but it only took him a short moment to realise his own action. And he stopped, withdrawing with immediate constraint. He saw confusion in her eyes, before it was shortly overcome by exhaust.

"Good night, Nii-sama." She turned, and then walked off to her own room. He watched her go. Her raven-coloured hair tracing the outlines of her back, as like his eyes did.

He desired her.

* * *

1. I'm so sorry! I haven't updated in so long, right? Well, here it is, chapter 5! After I got back my result for my first unit test in physics, I completely eliminated the computer from my life... cuz I got... SO BAD. But I just got back my second unit test today, and I did really good! :D So... I decided to update!

2. Sorry, it's short, but I'm bad at writing long chapters, and lately, I've been feeling so... out of words...? I have to start reading books again! Hehe...

3. Who wants to become a vegetarian? I do! lol...

Anyways! Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always, and if you didn't review, please do! Love u all! :)


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